Drawing the Shortstraw

Shortstraw are definitely one of my favourite SA bands, my mate Tash is obsessed with them and I can’t say she has bad taste. The band has made huge, success out of themselves and rightfully so with their unique sound and quirky lyrics, really, what’s not to like? They are often playing gigs down here in the dirty South and have been added to this year’s Splashy Fen - Revival list. We had a chat with them about their last international tour and why they like playing at Splashy.

You guys recently did a tour in Japan, what was it like playing with Japanese bands?

It's a little intimidating, to be honest! They are all such incredible musicians - like serious masters of their craft - so they made us feel a little inferior a lot of the time, although once we got to know them - and I mean all of them, every single band we shared the stage with (and even some we didn't) - they made us feel so equal and at home on stage. It's such an incredible country with the most amazing people. So friendly and accommodating and, even with the language barrier in place, everyone we spent time with immediately became a friend.

What are their festivals like?

I'm not sure if all Japanese festivals are like the one we played at, but the one we saw wasn't like Splashy where there's a bunch of massive stages a few hours out of town, this was all over a part of Osaka, in various clubs around an area that's called America, which is basically the musical hub of Osaka. Every venue has state of the art sound and lighting equipment, despite the fact that the majority of these clubs can't handle more than 100 people. But every show we went to, was packed and fortunately for us, the one we played was packed too. Didn't see any drum circles and there was no Fen, so still think we do festivals better.

When are you going to do episode two of the 'Booshcast' on Soundcloud?

That's a damn good question! We really wanted to do one in December before we went on tour, but we were all chaotic trying to finish up work and I was sick and trying to recover before it started. I think we should do one bloody tomorrow! Look out for that.

How many Splashy’s have you played at?

2016 will be our 4th year in a row! I've been going since I was a kid. Though, so it'll be about my 15th actual Splashy though.

What’s your favourite thing about a Splashy Fen gig?

Definitely the crowd. Durban crowds are the best! Everyone is a little rowdy, without being aggressive, so there's loads of party and good times.

If you were a Super Hero, what powers would you have?

I think it'd be cool to have the ability to control other people's sphincters. Like bad guy's sphincters only, though we wouldn't take advantage.